Spout for filling nozzle in combination with tight fill connection



Jan. 22, 1957 R. G. YOUNG, JR 2,778,390

sPOUT FILLING NozzLE IN COMBINATION H TIGHT FILL CONNECTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 4, 1953 llllll'nI -IWI Il lla mv Iaweizoii' 12027122423 GLYozugffy @f Jan. 22, 1957 R. G. YOUNG, JR 2,778,390

SPOUT FOR FILLING NOZZLE IN COMBINATION WITH TIGHT FILL CONNECTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a A//////,/z

Filed May 4, 1953 [2309223024: B02292443 Q Yo Jai.

izorzzeg United States Patent Oli ice retreated Jan. 22, 1957 SPOUT FOR FILLING NOZ'ZLE COMBINATION WITH TIGHT FILL CONNECTION Robert G. Young, Jr., Beverly,lMass.,assignor-to-Scully Signal Company, Cambridge, Mass., la corporation or Massachusetts Application May 4, 1953, serial No. 3sz,923

3 Claims. (Cl. 141-310) This invention relates to `the filling of tanks with liquids. While the invention is of general application,its present :immediate use has been particularly Aconcerned with the lling of household fuel Aoil tanks with fuel oil coming to the tank by hose from a tanktruck.

As will be well understood by those persons having to do with the household delivery of fuel oil, there is now in general use a device commonly known in this field as a tig-ht till connection. The object of the tight fill` connection is to make it possible for fuel oil to be delivered to the tank at high rates of lill without danger of leakage or spillage. According to the earlier practice, the spout of the hose line nozzle was placed in the open end of the lill pipe with the fuel oil flowing by gravity to the tank. Due to back pressures in the ll pipe and tank, any attempt to speed up the iilling rate beyond Athe normal gravity flow would result in the oil blowing back to spill on the ground outside of the house.

The tight till connection provided a remedy for the foregoing condition as it made it possible for the rigid spout of the nozzle to be itted securely Within an opening in a llexible diaphragm of a specially designed coupling structure afxed to the outer end lof the till pipe. By this arrangement, the nozzle could be opened 4torriaximum capacity and the oil driven into the tank at the maximum rate available by the pump on the tank truck.

negative pressure in the spout -and upper end of the ,lill

pipe. This negative pressure increases the force necessary to withdraw the stili spout after .-iilling of the tank has been completed from the exible member .of .the tight y ll connection, and in addition, .there is considerable likelihood that a quantity of fuel oil retained in the spout because of the negative pressure condition thereinwill .be spilled to the ground as the spout comes free.

The reason yfor the negative pressure condition developing in the spout upon the vclosing .of the nozzle is this. The relatively long run from the outside end lof the fill pipe to the tank requires an appreciable wait before the gas `in the top of the tank .can work its way up lthe till pipe to the nozzle to relieve the negative pressure. In other words, upon the closing of the nozzle, lthe fll pipe from the spout on down for a considerable distance is filled solidly with liquid that had, ,up to .the-instan't-.o'f .the closing of the nozzle, been moving in the direction of the tank. Any attempt to withdraw the `spout while .this ,condition prevails results in a further `increase in negative pressure which tends to draw fuel oil back .through .the ll pipe as the spout is removed. Thus, lunless the operator is quite careful, some spillage will occur when lthe spout is finally separated from the tight fill connection.

With the foregoing in mind, an @bietet of theprssat invention is to provide a 'rigid spout con'structionwhich will automatically break the negatiuepressnre condition at ,the spout asthe .spout is being removed from the tight lill connection, thus-permittingthe oil in the ll pipe and spout to run on freelyto the tank. In this way when 4the spout is freed, all. liquid will havetlefttA the spout and upper end of the` till pipe so'there can be no spillage.

`Another object of the invention is to provide a spout of such construction that it may be used equally well with differing types of tight fill connections so long as the connection be of the kind which 'frictionally grips the exterior of thespout tightly enough to prevent leakage during the lling, but which at the same time, permits longitudinal movement of the spout therein by a pulling and/or twisting movement.

These and other objects of the invention will'become more apparent as the description proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. l is a side elevation of the general organization showing a filling nozzle, spout, tight till connection, lill and vent pipes and a tank located within a building.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the upper end of a lill pipe, a tight'll connection and the end of a spout inserted therein.

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 with the spout moved outwardly to a position which permits the breaking of the negative pressure.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, showing the relation of the two longitudinal depressions in the spout to the yflexible element of the tight lill connection.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional View of a simplilied tight ll connection utilizing a flexible plug or gasket.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with the spout withdrawn to a position at which the negative pressure may -be broken.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6 showing the negative pressure breaking passages in the spout.

Referring to Fig. l, there is shown a fuel oil tank 2 mounted in the usual manner in the cellar of a building 4. Tank 2 has a ll pipe 6 and a vent pipe S leading through the wall to exterior positions. The `outer end of till pipe 6 terminates in an elbow 10 or any other suitable threaded element and to which has been screwed a. tight ll connection 12. A spout 14 ofthe nozzle 16 is shown inserted in normal delivery position with connection 12.

Referring now to the more ldetailed views of Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it will be seen that the end of the elbow 10 has aiixed thereto by suitable threads the tight filled con nection 12. This may be screwed to the position shown by hand and an VO-ring 18 is provided to make a liquid tight seal between the end of elbow 1t) and the shoulder 20 of the casing 22 which constitutes the main body portion of the connection 12.

At the upper end of the casing 22 is a circular flexible gasket 24 secured in position by a circular washer or annular ring 26 and the -screw threaded inwardly flanged clamping nut 28. The circular opening through the ilexible element 24 is of such size that the stili spout 14 may be forced vtherein kby the operator causing the ilegible element or disk to 'be stretched interiorly and bent dov/uwardly as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 in which position it will make a liquid tight seal with the circular exterior y of the spout. To facilitate entry of the nozzle the end is turned inwardly slightly as at 29. The casing 212 has interior webs or fins 30 which may be of varying dimensions and capable of supporting the end of the spout against excess lateral movement.

The principal feature of the invention will now beexplained. It will be observed in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 that the fspout 14 yhas a pair of v.Oppositely disposed longitudinally extending external :grooves or .depressions 32 and alf/verano 34. These depressions, which may be of any convenient number, are made by a suitable tool which causes the proper size indentation to be made in the spout. The depressions while shown in the drawings as running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spout could take a spiral or other circuitous path so long as the upper and lower portions of the depressions are spaced longitudinally of the spout a sufficient distance to straddle the flexible member through which the spout is inserted. In other words, on examining Fig. 3, it will be noticed that the upper end 36 of depression 32 is abc e the flexible element $24 while the lower end 38 is below, 'and similarly the upper and lower ends it? and #l2 of depression 34 .straddle the flexible element 24.

As can be seen in Fig. 2, when the rigid spout ll-l is located as shown with the depressions or channels 32 vand 34 within the casing Z2, the flexible clement 24.1 will be in tight sealing engagement with the spout about its entire circumference and external atmospheric air cannot flow to the interior of casing 22 upon the development of any negative pressure therein occurring under the circumstance explained above. For this reason, it has heretofore been somewhat difiicult to withdraw spout lill the distance of its inserted length through flexible element after the fuel supply has been shut od with the fill pipe 6 and casing l2 remaining full of fluid.

However, upon moving spout ld of the present invention upwardly a limited distance, it will be observed that the upper ends 36 and -ltl of the depressions 32 and 34 will arrive at and pass the flexible element 2d whereby atmospheric air may then flow readily along the depressions 32 and 3d to reach the interior of casing 22. ln this way, any negative pressure within the casing and fill pipe o is immediately relieved and three desirable results are at once achieved. First, all remaining fluid in the lill pipe and spout can forthwith flow freely to the tank 2, secondly, thc spout can be withdrawn from the flexible element 2d with greater ease, and thirdly, when the spout nally comes free of the flexible element will be in the spout and hence, there can be no spillage.

The invention is utilized with a different type of tight fill connection in the constructions shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. ln this case, the nozzle M is positioned within a large stopper di?. made of some suitable flexible material such as neoprene. This stopper is of such dimensions that it may be readily plugged into the outer end of *he fill pipe 6 or any other screwed on fitting such as the elbow l@ to provide a tight seal between the end of 'the pipe and the spout M. With the spout in the position shown in Fig. 5, there a tight connection and filling can proceed in the normal manner, When filling is stopped and the spout is to be removed, the operator may slide it upwardly a short distance within the stopper l2 to the position shown in Fig. 6 in which the upper and lower ends of the depressions 32 and 3d will be above and below the upper and lower surfaces of the stopper. ln this position the outside atmosphere may flow through the depressions to relieve any negative pressure that may bc present within pipe 5. After the negative pressure has been relieved. the operator may then remove the stopper 4Z and spout together from the end of the pipe.

It will be understood, of course, that in the ordinary case the tight fill connection l2 shown in lFigs. l, 2, 3, and 4 is screwed to the end of the fill pipe at the time of each delivery and prior to the insertion of spout ld therein. A fter the delivery has been completed and the spout removed from the tight fill connection, the latter is then unscrewed and carried by the operator to the next house where the filling operation is repeated. In some cases, however, the tight fill connection may be left permanently attached to the end of the ll pipe.

it will further be understood that while the preferred form of the invention contemplates air passages formed by areas depressed below the surface of the spout, air

passages could be formed with equal facility by providing raised longitudinally extending portions which when in engagement with the surrounding flexible element would create air passages between the crest of the raised portions and the normal spout surface. Thus, when the term depression is used in the claims, it contemplates that type of deformation of the spout surface which will permit the passage of air when the deformed portion is engaged by and straddles the flexible element.

From the foregoing description and explanation of the invention, it will be seen that l have provided a nozzle spout construction which may act in cooperation with another unit to make a tight connection therewith during the delivery of liquid, but which by a small longitudinal movement relative to the tight connection may change the connection to one in which air may flow from the atmosphere to the interior of the lill pipe. Thus, the spout by itself and in combination with a tight fill connection of a type which makes contact with the exterior of the spout is believed to constitute the invention which is appropriately claimed hereinafter.

it is my intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

l. A filling connection comprising, an outer fixed cylindrical pipe open at its upper end, an inner movable cylindrical pipe open at its lower end of less diameter than said outer pipe and fitting into said outer pipe and being movable therein from an intermediate position to a fully inserted filling position, resilient sealing means between the inner surface of said outer pipe and the outer surface of said inner pipe, said sealing means being carried by one said pipe and resiliently pressing against the surface of the other said pipe throughout the travel of said inner pipe from `said intermediate position to said filling position, a longitudinally extending groove on the surface against which said sealing means presses, said groove being longer axially of said pipes than said sealing means when the said pipes are in said intermediate position, and said groove terminating short of said sealing means when said pipes are fully engaged in said filling position whereby a tight seal is provided for filling and negative fluid pressure may be vented when said inner pipe is withdrawn from said outer pipe to said intermediate position.

2. The filling connection defined in claim l further characterized by said sealing means being connected to said outer pipe, and defining centrally of said outer pipe an opening of smaller diameter than the outside diameter of said inner pipe.

3. A filling connection comprising, an outer fixed cylindrical pipe open at its upper end, an inner movable cylindrical pipe open at its lower end of less diameter than said outer pipe and fitting into said outer pipe and being movable therein from an intermediate position to a fully in serted filling position, a flexible sealing element mounted near the upper end of said outer pipe and defining cen trally thereof an opening of smaller diameter than the outside diameter of said inner pipe whereby said sealing element presses against said inner pipe throughout the travel of said inner pipe into said outer pipe, a longitudinally extending groove on the outer surface of said inner pipe, said groove being longer axially of said inner pipe than the area thereon against which said sealing element presses and straddling said sealing element when said pipes are in said intermediate position, and said groove terminating short of said sealing element when said pipes are fully engaged in said filling position whereby a tight seal is provided for filling and negative fluid pressure may be vented when said inner pipe is withdrawn from said outer pipe to said intermediate position.

(References on following page) References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Xander et a1 Aug. 21, 1888 Aims Mar. 8, 1892 Dawson Sept. 10, 1907 Sterrick Sept. 25, 1923 Hale Sept. 27, 1938 6 Link May 28, 1940 Kaufman Mar. 13. 1951 Unger June 26, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS France Nov. 3, 1923 

